EAST LANSING, Mich. – Yuri Gandelsman, former principal violist with the Israel Philharmonic and the Moscow Virtuosi Chamber orchestras, has joined the faculty as a full professor with tenure at the Michigan State University College of Music.
Gandelsman has been hailed by the Jerusalem Post as “...undoubtedly one of the greatest violists of our time.” He has been entertaining audiences around the world for the last 30 years as a soloist, chamber musician and conductor.
Gandelsman was born in Russia and studied in Moscow with professors Heinrich Talalyan and Valentin Berlinsky. After winning the National Viola Competition in 1980 and joining the Moscow Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra as principal violist and soloist, he became one of the USSR’s leading musicians. His collaborations included concerts with such renowned musicians as Sviatoslav Richter, Yevgeni Kissin, Vladimir Spivakov and the Borodin and Shostakovich quartets.
In 1990, Gandelsman became the principal violist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. During the next 10 years he frequently performed as a soloist with the IPO under Maestro Zubin Mehta in Israel, the United States, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain. Gandelsman has performed solo recitals in many parts of the world, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Warsaw, Istanbul, Budapest and Florence. He has made numerous solo recordings for “Melodya,” “Sony Classical,” “Lyrinx,” “ASV” and “Naxos” labels.
Upon his arrival in Israel, Gandelsman was appointed as a professor of viola at the Rubin Academy at Tel Aviv University, a position he held for 12 years. From 2000-02 he was the chairman of the Chamber Music Department at the university.
Many of Gandelsman's students hold positions in orchestras and chamber groups in Israel and Europe. His students also have been prize winners at many international competitions. He has appeared as a guest professor at Yale University and the Paris Conservatoire. Gandelsman has given many master classes in Finland, and during 1995 he was the director of the “Viola School” at the Kuhmo Festival. He also has taught and performed at several chamber music festivals in Europe.
“Yuri Gandelsman has distinguished himself as one of the leading violists of his generation,” said James Forger, dean of the College of Music. “His exceptional experience as a superb chamber and orchestral musician as well as a highly effective and committed teacher adds a very strong dimension to our world-class faculty.”
With a faculty of more than 75 talented resident artists and scholars, the College of Music at MSU is known throughout the United States and in many parts of the world for providing exceptional training for composers, music educators, performers and music therapists. Currently, the student body consists of more than 400 undergraduates and 275 graduate students who come from all regions of the U.S. and 17 other nations.